Even Milwaukee Loyalists Admit This Harbor Freight Ratchet Is Great - Here's Why

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Hercules came in seventh in our ranking of the top power tool brands, and Harbor Freight's in-house label has impressed more than just the MMtech Online team. Hercules has been drawing plenty of attention as a low-priced alternative to the big names, with its best tools rivaling the performance of premium brands. The Hercules 12V 1/4 inch ratchet has earned positive reviews from buyers, including some who usually prefer Milwaukee tools. 

To see if the ratchet lived up to the hype, YouTubers Price Kustoms put the Hercules 12V ratchet head-to-head with the Milwaukee M12 ratchet in several tests. They call Milwaukee tools their "go-to," adding that they have "Milwaukee hats and everything," but still came away thoroughly impressed by the Hercules ratchet. They found that the Hercules and Milwaukee ratchets offered similar performance but felt the big difference in price made the Hercules tool a good option for many people. 

The Hercules ratchet spins up to 275 rpm and provides up to 35 foot-pounds of torque, and the Milwaukee lags a tiny bit in both respects at 250 rpm and 30 foot-pounds. The Hercules 12V ratchet is priced at just $54.99 for the bare tool, while the Milwaukee M12 1/4 inch ratchet is $149 at Home Depot. That price difference is hard to ignore even for the staunchest Milwaukee loyalists, and Hercules batteries and chargers are cheaper than their Milwaukee counterparts as well. Hercules' 12V 4 amp hour battery is just $34.99 at Harbor Freight and its 4 amp multi-voltage charger is $44.99, for a total of $79.98. A Milwaukee M12 4 amp-hour battery and charger costs $99.99 at Home Depot.

Price Kustoms aren't the only reviewers who have found the Hercules 12V 1/4 inch ratchet impressive compared to Milwaukee's similar tool. The 178 buyers who have left reviews on Harbor Freight's website as of this writing give it an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars, and several of them made favorable comparisons to Milwaukee tools. One five-star reviewer wrote, "I got tired of paying for new Milwaukee tools and new batteries as they break over the years, this ratchet is much better than the Milwaukee one." 

Another wrote that they "use a Milwaukee ratchet at work and this Hercules performs just as good for less than half the price." An updated 12V ratchet line and new Hercules 12V impact driver are among the new Harbor Freight products coming in 2026; the new ratchets will have 3/8 inch drive heads and will come in two handle sizes. The best Hercules power tools include saws, a hex driver, and an angle grinder, and all brushless Hercules tools come with a five-year warranty. Batteries, chargers, and tools with brushed motors are guaranteed for up to three years.